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Really enjoying these older cases - This has always been a bit of a strange one because of the bizzare phone call which was right on target as far as the abduction of Kathy Hobbs - There was no update attached to the segment so I guess it hasn't been solved and has prolly just become another part of "seedy Vegas lore" or whatever - I personally think Kathy was killed by someone she knew since apparently she called out his name while she was being thrown in the vehicle

Just an example of an early creepy UM case - Is anyone aware of a possible update my heart really goes out to the mother in this segment as it has been over twenty years I believe since the murder (hard to believe!) with apparently no resolution

Is she the girl that thought she wouldn't live to be 16, and when she did, she started being excited about life? Then one night, she was walking to the store to buy a romance novel, and was abducted and killed?

If that's her....it's pretty creepy.

I really wish UM would update ALL their cases, even if they aren't solved yet. It's irritating sometimes to see a case from 1988 and wonder if anything happened after that. I mean, yes, sometimes there are updates, but there are a lot of cases that have been solved that HAVEN'T been updated.

I just wish they could have an "UPDATE! After 22 years, this case remains unsolved. If you have any information......." It would help, you know?

This was another UM case I have blanked out of my memory. I was so convinced there would be an update (esp. since the phone call) but was so disappointed when there wasn't. I am suprised that none of the neighbor kids she hung out with could be of any help or give any leads, afterall...how many introverted kids know people that no one else in their small circle knows?

It's the first time I've seen it since my best Las Vegas friend, Larry Mathews, was murdered here almost a year ago, early March 2004. He was staying at a weekly place behind the Stardust called Budget Suites and just vanished. Day-to-day normalcy, then nothing. He apparently was supposed to meet a friend from his hometown of Denver at Palace Station on a Sunday, then did not show up, completely unlike Larry.

His mother filed a missing persons report. At that point I knew it was foul play, since Larry spoke to her faithfully once a week. I gave all my info to a missing persons detective. Within a few weeks a different detective contacted me. Turns out he was a homicide detective. Larry's body had been found in the desert, out there for about a month and so badly decomposed it wasn't identified until a DNA test via his mother.

Robbery was almost certainly the motive. Larry was a poker player/ blackjack player/bonus slot machine player/ sports bettor who carried large amounts of cash in his socks. He would sift through 100s when a local tapout asked to borrow 5 bucks. We used to warn him about it, but obviously not enough.

This case is apparently still unsolved and authorities are mum. There has been virtually zero press. A couple friends said they saw a short segment on local TV last year but I missed it. Supposedly the police have a specific suspect, who is pictured on tape trying to cash Larry's traveler's checks. The detective called me and others, asking if Larry wore expensive jewelry. Apparently the suspect also tried to sell jewelry and the detectives think it was Larry's.

Anyway, Larry didn't have a car and liked to walk at night, within a mile or so from the Kathy Hobbs abduction site. So that was what I was picturing while watching the segment today. Very numbing.

The Hobbs case was summer '87. I lived very close to that area at the time, in fact same zip they showed on the map, 89109. It's not the greatest area, some basic mid-to-low level apartment complexes and a high crime rate. There have been other Las Vegas murder cases on true crime shows from the same vicinity. Not well lit at all, in amazing contrast to the Strip just a few blocks west.

The grocery store she walked to at the corner of Desert Inn and Maryland Parkway is now an Office Depot. It has a huge parking lot that wraps around the store to the east and south. That was true when it was an Albertson's. There is also a Carl's Jr. on the corner of the lot that can easily hide the view of traffic on both Desert Inn and Maryland.

I'm not sure, but I don't think Kathy Hobbs is the one who screamed "Robbie" while she was being abducted. My impression was there were two kidnappers and one of them used that name in reference to the other. I may be wrong. It was indeed spooky to listen to that audio tape, especially since the caller had thought enough to write down a license plate number but one that may have been wrong. I wonder if police checked similar license numbers, especially if they corresponded to vehicles matching a description. The Unsolved Mysteries segment didn't make it clear if the entire audiotape was played on the show, or if the caller had described the vehicle.

They just had that episode on again today and they just said a caller that would not leave a name said she was pushed into a car of "Robbie" but they didnt say if she yelled it or how they knew the name I dont think. I felt really sorry for the mom too but I have a 15 year old and I would never let a teenager walk alone in Vegas at night. I was really hoping as old as the case is they would have some kind of update.

I agree, I too have a teenager and there is NO way I would let him go. Im sure the mom feels awful about that decision now Im sorry to hear about your friend, AWSI, thats terrible! I think there are just so many "comers and goers" in Vegas that cops cant stay on top of all the crime and the thugs and murderers know it. Although going to a grocery store sounds innocent enough, I recently received on of those "forwards" where rapists and theives, etc. were interviewed and I believe grocery stores were either the #1 or #2 place they go to abduct women.

Sorry I took so long to reply. My friend's murder is still unsolved. In fact, many people refuse to believe he's dead because there hasn't been anything in the media. Just in the past couple of weeks I've had to copy the 10-month old flyers listing Larry as a "murder victim" so I can show it to the disbelievers. As you indicate, Vegas is a transient town and many of Larry's friends still want to believe he's somewhere else, playing poker or whatever.

One thing I've learned: detectives love to ASK questions, but they won't ANSWER a thing. I've requested basic info, nothing confidential or important, but they won't reveal a thing. To a family member, perhaps, but to a friend, absolute zero.

Vegas is more similar to "normal" towns than most people like to believe, but like every city of this size and population there are areas you don't want to frequent at night. The area Kathy Hobbs was abducted from was actually much more middle class, or slightly below, than it became a decade or so later. It was not considered one of the more dangerous parts of town at that point, in 1987. The Vegas population later shifted to the east, toward Henderson, and then to the West, toward Mt. Charleston, and that region where she was abducted became much worse. In fact, a major shopping mall closed and stores like Sports Authority moved away.

I was thinking about Kathy and decided to see if any current or updated information had come about yet and it hasn't.
Her and I were friends from the time we were 5 until she and her family moved to Vegas.
She was a great person, and a thoughtful person.
I still think about her often.

I was thinking about Kathy and decided to see if any current or updated information had come about yet and it hasn't.
Her and I were friends from the time we were 5 until she and her family moved to Vegas.
She was a great person, and a thoughtful person.
I still think about her often.

Hi buensul. No, sadly I haven't seen any updates on this case. Occasionally I do a search for Kathy Hobbs on the websites of the Las Vegas Review Journal and Las Vegas Sun, but nothing comes up.

I'm not surprised Kathy was a great and thoughtful person. Her mother came across that way in the UM segment. I just drove past that building where she was abducted last night. I think about this case almost every time I'm there.

BTW, my friend Larry's murder is also still unsolved. The latest rumor is a couple he knew and trusted may have been responsible.

thanks for writing...now that I know this is here I will continue to come and check it out...
I have lost contact with Kathy's family... I am trying to contact them again too.
I hope you will find out who murdered your friend as well...
What makes people do these stupid things to other people...?Unthinkable.

Forgive me for bringing up this old thread, but I just finished reading A Perfect Gentleman by Jaye Slade Fletcher about Michael Lee Lockhart who was given three death sentences in Indiana, Texas, and Florida. (He finally was put to death in Texas in 1997 after his 1989 convictions). On page 324 this case is mentioned.

It is possible that Lockhart could be connected to Katherine's death. The book states that the only physical evidence was blue carpet fibers. The fibers were identical to fibers used in blue carpet of 1986 Toyota Celicas, one of which Lockhart was driving at the time. Evidence suggests that Lockhart was in the Las Vegas area at the time of the murder.

I thought I'd share this here because I couldn't find it anywhere online.

However, Fletcher also admitted to a long string of armed robberies that supplied him with lots of cash and credit cards to flash around, as well as identities and names to steal. He was never tried for any other crimes since he had already been convicted of three murder cases (with the death penalty) and since one had been an officer in the line of duty his fate was sealed.

He filed appeal after appeal and succeeded in delaying his execution by a number of years.

There's not much about him on the Net as the convictions and investigations took place in 1987-89 with most of the appeals being in the early 90's.

Forgive me for bringing up this old thread, but I just finished reading A Perfect Gentleman by Jaye Slade Fletcher about Michael Lee Lockhart who was given three death sentences in Indiana, Texas, and Florida. (He finally was put to death in Texas in 1997 after his 1989 convictions). On page 324 this case is mentioned.

It is possible that Lockhart could be connected to Katherine's death. The book states that the only physical evidence was blue carpet fibers. The fibers were identical to fibers used in blue carpet of 1986 Toyota Celicas, one of which Lockhart was driving at the time. Evidence suggests that Lockhart was in the Las Vegas area at the time of the murder.

I thought I'd share this here because I couldn't find it anywhere online.

Yes, that is interesting. I've never heard of a specific potential suspect in the Hobbs case. I wonder if they have the license plate number of that Toyota Celica at the time? Remember, a witness apparently wrote down a license plate number after seeing the Hobbs abduction but the plate number may have been wrong, or just couldn't be traced to a specific vehicle. But no doubt what he wrote down was at least partially correct so if it corresponded to aspects of Lockhart's license plate that would be meaningful.

Of course, I default to probability and the likelihood of this person being involved is miniscule at best. For one thing, did Lockhart prefer to operate with someone else? There were apparently two abductors in the Hobbs case.

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